Chapter 3

• “Anna.”
• “I know you’re awake. Don’t pretend to sleep. We need to talk.”
• Andrea frowned. The voices speaking softly around her continued speaking.
• “I talked to the nurse. She said you don’t remember anything about the school incident. Are you saying the truth or are you faking it? Tell me the truth, Anna.”
• “Hurry up! Your mom and dad will be here any second!”
• Andrea slowly opened her eyes. She squinted and turned to the woman near her bed. “Who are you?”
• The woman was wearing a high school uniform, her red hair particularly standing out. She looked at Andrea, slightly stunned, “You’re kidding, right?”
• Andrea struggled to get up. “Uh, my head feels like it’s being split into halves.”
• “It will be split into more pieces if you don’t speak. Come on, tell me, did you or did you not tell anyone what happened?” the woman – or young teenager – asked.
• Who was this person anyway? Did Giovanni send her to accompany Andrea?
• “He told you to come?” Andrea couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed then it turned to instant worry. Did something else happen at the base?
• “Yes,” the teenager said. She sighed and took a seat at the edge of Andrea’s bed. “He went to Tracy’s party so he couldn’t come. I’m telling you, that guy is a jerk. You should leave him.”
• “Tracy’s party?”
• The red-haired girl rolled her eyes. “I know right? It’s so ridiculous! What kind of guy will go to the party of the woman who was bullying his fiancée? He is the worst. If I were you, I would request your mom and dad to cancel whatever engagement they did for you. You know Drake doesn’t deserve you, Anna. He’s a playboy jerk. He’ll only break your heart!”
• Andrea blinked. Somehow, she felt something was off. The medicine she took from the nurse earlier definitely was the thing that caused this. There’s no other explanation for this weird conversation.
• Unless it was a work of witchcraft...
• When Andrea went to the bathroom to look at her face, she almost had a heart attack and died on the spot. It took everything in her power not to scream at that moment.
• Who the hell was the woman in that mirror? What happened to her face and body? Most importantly, how the hell did this happen to her?
• When she came out, the young woman in her school uniform was still there. “Have you decided to tell me the truth? Anna—”
• “Give me your phone,” Andrea said.
• The woman frowned, “What do you need it for?”
• “Just hand it over. Please,” Andrea said, her eyes wide, her heart beating loud and fast.
• The teenager sighed and gave her phone to Andrea. “Here. Call that jerk or whatever, I don’t care anymore!”
• Andrea wasn’t listening to her anymore as she quickly and secretly downloaded an app, logging in and checking the news of the undergrounds – the dark side of the world.
• On the news, she saw three lines that shook her world: Grand City’s Fall. Fire breakout. Michaelis’ Wife Found Dead.
• Dead...
• She was dead.
• The thought of it being a prank came across Andrea’s mind. She had played Giovanni dozens of times before, making fun of him in order to see his smile. She was the only person who could do it of course, but perhaps, she thought, Giovanni was only playing the same joke on her this time.
• Andrea laughed bitterly. “Like in hell he will do that.”
• The young woman across the room shook her head. “You’re crazy if you think he’s a good man. For goodness’ sake, Anna. It’s obvious Drake is after Tracy Gomez!”
• “Well, screw Tracy Gomez!” Andrea exclaimed, her emotions jumbled up and all over the place. “Screw her and the rest of them who did this!”
• The young woman in uniform was stunned.
• Andrea panted, clenching her cold hands as she logged out, removed the app, and tossed the phone on the bed. This was too much of a prank.
• There was no way Giovanni, as ruthless and cold as he may be, could do this to her. If it wasn’t a prank, then it only meant it was real.
• She really died.
• Andrea could only imagine the face Giovanni was making at this time. If she had really died from that fire, he wouldn’t sit still and cry. He wasn’t the kind of man who would do that after all.
• Instead, there would be a bloodbath, fueled by revenge and deep hatred, a loud cry for vengeance.
• It would be a bloody war amongst the continental underground.